Nick Stath – Fairy Tales

Nick Stath is a Concept artist, designer and illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. Upon receiving his Masters degree in Architecture, Nick has pursued working simultaneously as a Designer in both architectural practice and the entertainment industry.

Nick’s work has been featured on various global platforms such as Archdaily, Designboom & The Creative Review. Nick was also recently named joint winner in the International Fairytales Competition run by Blank Space for his illustrated story titled ‘Monuments of the Past’, which depicts a future earth devastated by climate change.

At a young age, he felt in love with films such as Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey & Blade Runner and was drawn to their otherworldly qualities. Futuristic spaces, monolithic architecture and foreign landscapes are what captured his attention and led him to pursue creating worlds of his own.

Film and cinematography are one of his biggest sources of inspiration. He is constantly in awe of the mood and emotion a single scene in a film can create. Lighting, space, and composition are so carefully established to connect with the audience. He is constantly studying some of his favorite films to understand the techniques used and aim to apply these lessons in his own work. The cinematography in both Blade Runner’s are a go-to for him when producing new artworks.

The first step in his working process involves collecting various reference material related to the subject matter and brief he is working towards. He then refers to film stills he has collected over time to drive inspiration for powerful composition and lighting scenarios.

Prior to producing the final artwork, he will generally work on sketching small thumbnail images in black and white values to test various compositions. He will then select the composition that appears to be the most powerful and successful in depicting the story he wishes to convey. He will then use this established composition as a starting point for the final piece. He currently uses Procreate for his artworks.

He loves a good sense of mystery and tries to convey that in his work. He believes as human beings we are curious and always have the urge to explore. Science fiction is a great reflection of this and what he believes to be one of the most powerful ways to open up our minds and encourage us to keep on exploring the unknown.